Pajama suit for autistic children

ABSTRACT

Wearing apparel which helps to manage autistic children by preventing them from removing the wearing apparel once they are placed in the wearing apparel. The wearing apparel is made from a soft cotton material and has an opening through which the wearing apparel is placed onto or removed from the child. The opening is the only way the wearing apparel can be donned or removed. A closure mechanism allows the opening to be open for passage of the child into or out of the wearing apparel when in the open configuration and to close the opening to prevent the passage of the child into or out of the wearing apparel when in the closed configuration. The closure is located where the child cannot reach it once the wearing apparel is donned whereby once the child is dressed, the child cannot disrobe.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the general art of wearing apparel, andto the particular field of clothing specially adapted for autisticchildren.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Autism is a developmental disorder, which manifests itself during earlychildhood. Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs socialinteraction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitivebehavior, all starting before a child is three years old. This set ofsigns distinguishes autism from milder autism spectrum disorders (ASD)such as Asperger syndrome. In the autistic child, communications andsocial interactions are severely impaired. Unable to learn from thenatural environment as most children do, the child with autism generallyshows little interest in the world or people around him. Although somechildren with autism develop normally and even acquire advanced skills,most exhibit a wide range of behavioral problems. In reality, autismaffects the way a person comprehends, communicates and relates toothers.

Epidemiologic studies suggested a prevalence rate of autistic behaviorof approximately 2 to 5 cases in 10,000; however, recent surveysincluding the entire spectrum of the disease indicate that rates of 15per 10,000 are more accurate disease prevalence. Such figures indicatethat this disorder affects four hundred thousand Americans, withsignificant social and public health costs.

Most recent reviews estimate a prevalence of one to two cases per 1,000people for autism, and about six per 1,000 for ASD, with ASD averaging a4.3:1 male-to-female ratio. The number of people known to have autismhas increased dramatically since the 1980s, at least partly due tochanges in diagnostic practice; the question of whether actualprevalence has increased is unresolved. As can be understood, thousandsof children suffer from the effects of pervasive developmentaldisorders. In addition, thousands of parents and other relatives mustprovide care for those children. Those children who suffer from theseverest forms of these disorders must now be institutionalized. Thisinstitutionalization imposes a large expense on the families of thechildren and on society for the care of those children.

Autism was originally thought to be primarily a psychiatric condition.However, further investigation showed that genetic and environmentalfactors are implicated in the pathogenesis of autism. The effects ofenvironmental factors such as infections and toxic chemicals on geneexpression result in biochemical, immunological and neurologicaldisorders found in children with autism.

Autism is largely inherited, although the genetics of autism are complexand it is generally unclear which genes are responsible. In rare cases,autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects.Other proposed causes, such as childhood vaccines, are controversial andthe vaccine hypotheses lack convincing scientific evidence.

Despite the substantial body of evidence implicating neurobiologicalfactors in the pathogenesis, precise etiologic mechanisms of autism haveyet to be identified. In the absence of a clear etiology, although bothbehavioral and medical interventions are available to improve learningand behavior, there is no evidence of a cure for autism, nor anyefficient psychopharmacological treatments for the core symptoms.

Autism affects many parts of the brain; how this occurs is poorlyunderstood. There is no clear biological marker of autism to allow earlydiagnosis or screening of this disease even though it is generallybelieved that early recognition and management is crucial in theprognosis. Parents usually notice signs in the first year or two oftheir child's life. Early intervention may help children gain self-careand social skills, although few of these interventions are supported byscientific studies. There is no cure. With severe autism, independentliving is unlikely; with milder autism, there are some success storiesfor adults, and an autistic culture has developed, with some seeking acure and others believing that autism is a condition rather than adisorder.

As late as the mid-1970s, there was little evidence of a genetic role inautism; now it is thought to be one of the most heritable of allpsychiatric conditions. The rise of parent organizations and thedestigmatization of childhood ASD have deeply affected how we view ASD,its boundaries, and its treatments. The Internet has helped autisticindividuals bypass nonverbal cues and emotional sharing that they findso hard to deal with, and has given them a way to form onlinecommunities and work remotely. Sociological and cultural aspects ofautism have developed: some in the community seek a cure, while othersbelieve that autism is simply another way of being.

As was discussed above, autism is a developmental disorder of the humanbrain that first gives signs during infancy or childhood and follows asteady course without remission or relapse. Impairments result frommaturation-related changes in various systems of the brain. Autism isone of the five pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), which arecharacterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions andcommunication, and severely restricted interests and highly repetitivebehavior.

The manifestations of autism cover a wide spectrum, ranging fromindividuals with severe impairments, who may be silent, mentallydisabled, and locked into hand flapping and rocking, to less impairedindividuals who may have active but distinctly odd social approaches,narrowly focused interests, and verbose, pedantic communication.Sometimes the syndrome is divided into low, medium, and high functioningautism (LFA, MFA, and HFA), based on IQ thresholds, or on how muchsupport the individual requires in daily life; these subdivisions arenot standardized and are controversial.

Autism is characterized by a behavioral syndrome often recognizedbetween two and three years of age. The core of the syndrome is adeviant and/or retarded development of cognitive capacities and skillsnecessary for social relations, communication, fantasy, and symbolicthinking. Almost all autistic children do not reach independence asadults and 75% are deemed mentally retarded. Many autistic children liketo remove their clothing and can be difficult to keep them covered.

Caretakers as well as teachers often have a problem with such children.Therefore, there is a need for a means for preventing such children fromremoving their clothing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects are achieved by wearing apparel which helps tomanage autistic children by preventing them from removing the wearingapparel once they are placed in the wearing apparel. The wearing apparelis made from a soft cotton material and has an opening through which thewearing apparel is placed onto or removed from the child. The opening isthe only way the wearing apparel can be donned or removed. A closuremechanism allows the opening to be open for passage of the child into orout of the wearing apparel when in the open configuration and to closethe opening to prevent the passage of the child into or out of thewearing apparel when in the closed configuration. The closure is locatedwhere the child cannot reach it once the wearing apparel is donnedwhereby once the child is dressed, the child cannot disrobe.

One form of the wearing apparel includes a pajama suit made from a softcotton material and will zipper up in the back. With the zipper in theback the child will be unable to remove the pajama suit. This helps theparent keep the child in their clothes. The clothing is comfortable, yeta child is not able to remove it.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention willbe, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following figures and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe invention, and be protected by the following claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

The invention can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings and description. The components in the figures are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, likereferenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout thedifferent views.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of children's clothing embodying theprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the clothing shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a one-piece form of the children'sclothing embodying the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the clothing shown in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the figures, it can be understood that the presentinvention is embodied in wearing apparel 10 for autistic children in amanner such that once the child is placed in the wearing apparel, thechild cannot remove that wearing apparel on his or her own.

Wearing apparel 10 comprises a leg covering portion 20 which can includefoot covers 30 and 32. The wearing apparel further comprises a trunkcovering portion 40 which is fixedly connected to the trunk coveringportion in a manner such that the leg covering portion and the trunkcovering portion are a unit and the leg covering portion cannot beremoved from the autistic child without first opening the trunk coveringportion. The trunk covering portion includes a first section 42 which islocated adjacent to the chest section of the child when the child iswearing the wearing apparel and a second section 44 which is locatedadjacent to the back section of the child when the child is wearing thewearing apparel. The trunk covering portion can include arm covers 50and 52 as well as a neck opening 58 through which the child's neck fits.It is noted that the neck opening is only large enough to permit thechild's neck to pass therethrough. The neck opening can be sized so itis even too small for the child's head to pass as will be understoodfrom the teaching of the present disclosure.

An opening 60 is defined through the trunk covering portion though whichthe autistic child passes to enter or leave the trunk covering portion.The trunk covering portion is one piece so the opening is the only meansfor the autistic child to enter or leave the trunk covering portionwhereby the only way the autistic child can remove the trunk coveringportion and the leg covering portion is to move through the opening inthe trunk portion. In the form shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the opening isdefined through second section 44 of the trunk covering portion.

A closure 70, such as a zipper or hook-and-loop material such as VELCROor the like is located on the trunk covering portion adjacent to theopening. The closure is located in a section 78 of the trunk coveringportion that cannot be reached by the child wearing the trunk coveringportion so the child cannot access the closure while wearing the trunkcovering portion, and is the only means for opening and closing thetrunk covering portion. The closure is adapted to close the trunkcovering portion when in a closed configuration and to open the trunkcovering portion when in an open configuration whereby once the child isinside the trunk covering portion and the leg covering portion the childcannot by itself remove either the trunk covering portion or the legcovering portion. In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 4,the closure is located in second section 44 of the trunk coveringportion.

Therefore, the means for donning or removing the wearing apparelconsists entirely of the opening and the closure which are located sothe child cannot gain access to the closure once the he or she iswearing the wearing apparel and thus the child cannot remove the wearingapparel once he or she is dressed.

The wearing apparel can be pajamas formed of soft material such ascotton or the like. In one form of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4as wearing apparel 10′, the trunk covering portion and the leg coveringportion are a monolithic one-piece unit.

While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many moreembodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of thisinvention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except inlight of the attached claims and their equivalents.

1. Wearing apparel for autistic children comprising: A) a leg coveringportion; B) a trunk covering portion, the leg covering portion beingfixedly connected to the trunk covering portion in a manner such thatthe leg covering portion and the trunk covering portion are a unit andthe leg covering portion cannot be removed from the autistic childwithout first opening the trunk covering portion; C) an opening in thetrunk covering portion though which the autistic child passes to enteror leave the trunk covering portion, the trunk covering portion beingone piece so the opening is the only means for the autistic child toenter or leave the trunk covering portion whereby the only way theautistic child can remove the trunk covering portion and the legcovering portion is to move through the opening in the trunk portion; D)a closure on the trunk covering portion adjacent to the opening, theclosure being located in a section of the trunk covering portion thatcannot be reached by the child wearing the trunk covering portion so thechild cannot access the closure while wearing the trunk coveringportion, and being the only means for opening and closing the trunkcovering portion and being adapted to close the trunk covering portionwhen in a closed configuration and to open the trunk covering portionwhen in an open configuration whereby once the child is inside the trunkcovering portion and the leg covering portion the child cannot by itselfremove either the trunk covering portion or the leg covering portion. 2.The wearing apparel defined in claim 1 wherein the trunk coveringportion includes a first section that is located adjacent to the child'schest when worn and a second section that is located adjacent to thechild's back when worn, the closure being located in the second sectionof the trunk covering portion.
 3. The wearing apparel defined in claim 1wherein the closure is a zipper mechanism.
 4. The wearing appareldefined in claim 1 further including feet covering portions on the legcovering portion.
 5. The wearing apparel defined in claim 1 wherein thetrunk covering portion includes an arm covering portion.
 6. The wearingapparel defined in claim 1 wherein the leg covering portion and thetrunk covering portion are a one-piece monolithic unit.
 7. Wearingapparel for autistic children comprising: A) a trunk covering portion;B) a leg covering portion, the leg covering portion being fixed to thetrunk covering portion to be unitary therewith so that an autistic childcannot can only leave the leg covering portion by first leaving thetrunk covering portion; C) passage means on the trunk covering portionthrough which the autistic child enters and leaves the trunk coveringportion; D) the passage means on the trunk covering portion, the trunkcovering portion being one piece so the only means for the child toenter or leave the trunk covering portion consists entirely of thepassage means, the passage means consisting entirely of (1) a singleopening defined through the trunk covering portion, and (2) a closure onthe trunk covering portion adjacent to the opening, the closure beingthe only means for opening and closing the opening in the trunk coveringportion and being adapted to close the opening in the trunk coveringportion when in a closed configuration and to open the opening in thetrunk covering portion when in an open configuration, the closure beinglocated so a child inside the trunk covering portion cannot obtainaccess to the closure whereby once the child is inside the trunkcovering portion and the leg covering portion the child cannot by itselfremove either the trunk covering portion or the leg covering portion. 8.The wearing apparel defined in claim 7 wherein the trunk coveringportion includes a first section that is located adjacent to the child'schest when worn and a second section that is located adjacent to thechild's back when worn, the closure being located in the second sectionof the trunk covering portion.
 9. The wearing apparel defined in claim 7wherein the leg covering portion and the trunk covering portion are aone-piece monolithic unit.